Surprise! Georgia's Rejection of Obamacare Is Hurting the Rural Poor.

As Scott over at LGM never tires of pointing out, the decision of the Supreme Court to allow the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate—and, thus, the law itself—to stand contained a very effective land mine, courtesy of Chief Justice John Roberts. He allowed governors to opt out of the expansion of Medicaid that also was part of the law. And because many states are governed by rightwing hardbars who don't give a damn about anyone who can't cut them a check, we had the remarkable—and, well nigh unprecedented—spectacle of watching politicians turn down FREE MONEY! This occurred in many places. Georgia was one of them.

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Hospital industry officials say Georgia's decision not to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act has hurt rural health care. Hospitals in rural areas tend to treat many uninsured people, incurring heavy losses. If more low-income residents were covered by Medicaid, these hospitals would be guaranteed more revenue. Gov. Nathan Deal and legislative leaders have so far stood resolutely against Medicaid expansion, saying it would be too costly for the state. Deal has sought to address the plight of struggling hospitals, pursuing a rural hospital stabilization project involving extra funding for four areas of the state. Lewis said Hutcheson patients won't be as badly inconvenienced as people in other rural areas losing hospitals, because of Fort Oglethorpe's proximity to Chattanooga. The Tennessee city is nine miles away. The Fort Oglethorpe hospital has been under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since November 2014. It owed about $80 million at the time of the filing, the Times Free Press reported.

(Also, when you hear candidates promise to "repeal Obamacare" and replace it with a "market-based" system, this is what they're talking about.)

It's not just Georgia. It's happening all over the place, mainly in states where the governor has declined to accept FREE MONEY! Governor Nathan Deal could have kept this hospital open. He chose not to do so for reasons that had nothing whatsoever with the health of his constituents. Five will get you 10 that Obamacare gets blamed. Guaranteed.

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